Vote clears way for Santa Ana skyscraper

Developer Michael Harrah applauds after the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously to allow the construction of his proposed 37-story tower. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Michael Harrah, center, is ecstatic after the City Council approved the construction of his proposed 37-story tower in Santa Ana. The project would take 2 years to complete and would employ some 2.900 workers. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A 37-story tower will be built in this empty lot on N. Broadway in Santa Ana. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A 37-story tower ,One Broadway Plaza tower, is proposed to be built in this empty lot on N. Broadway in Santa Ana. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

An artist's rendering shows different views of the One Broadway Plaza tower. PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL HARRAH/CARIBOU INDUSTRIES.

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Some exited Santa Ana residents applauded the city's desicion to allow the construction of a 37-story tower in Santa Ana. The project would bring thousands of jobs to the area. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Developer Michael Harrah is congratulated by Alex Vega after the Santa Ana City Council voted to allow the construction of his proposed 37-tower skyscraper. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A 37-story tower will be built in this empty lot on N. Broadway in Santa Ana. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A 37-story tower will be built at 1109 N. Broadway in Santa Ana if the City Council decides to vote to clear the way for developer Michael Harrah. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A 37-story tower ,One Broadway Plaza tower, is proposed to be built in this empty lot on N. Broadway in Santa Ana. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Santa Ana residents Alfred Rodriguez and Robert Ruiz were hoping the City Council would vote for an amendment that would give developers the go ahead to build a 37-story skyscraper in Santa Ana. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Developer Michael Harrah waits for the Santa Ana City Council to take up a vote that would allow the construction of his proposed 37-story tower. The project would employ thousands and would take 2 years to complete. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Developer Michael Harrah applauds after the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously to allow the construction of his proposed 37-story tower. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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SANTA ANA – The City Council on Monday cleared the way for construction to begin on the tallest building ever built in Orange County, knocking down a key hurdle that had held up the project for years.

The proposed One Broadway Plaza tower would soar 37 stories above a neighborhood of mostly mid-level office buildings, schools and old homes just north of downtown. Developer Michael Harrah has said he could break ground by the end of the year and promised to put about 2,900 people to work building it.

Labor unions from Los Angeles and Orange counties rallied dozens of ironworkers, pipefitters and other laborers to Monday's council meeting to support the tower. They surrounded Harrah for handshakes after the vote; as asphalt-layer Alfred G. Rodriguez told the council: "I need a job."

Harrah has spent more than five years trying to meet the conditions that the city set when it first approved the tower in 2004. Those included a requirement that he sign up tenants for at least half of the tower's space before he begin construction – a requirement he is still not close to meeting.

The City Council voted 4-0 late Monday to erase that requirement. "I don't want to be part of a council that says later on, you know, we could have had that building in our city," Councilman Vincent Sarmiento said just before the vote.

The council also gave Harrah more time to pay for traffic studies. But it rejected Harrah's other big request, that it allow him to seek financial subsidies from the city through its redevelopment agency.

Several neighbors of the proposed tower accused the council of going back on its own rules – capitulating to Harrah, a prominent property owner and developer. They warned that without the leasing requirements, the city could wind up with an empty skyscraper.

"If you start pulling at these strings, you're going to destroy the fabric of trust," resident Connie Major said. She added: "Let's not have a white elephant in our back yard."

The council's vote to relax Harrah's development conditions came after nearly two hours of debate and discussion, during which more than three dozen people spoke out for or against the project. Harrah did not speak during the meeting.

Council members Michele Martinez and Carlos Bustamante were out of town and did not attend the meeting. Councilman David Benavides did not participate because he works for a bank that may invest in the project.

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